(Washington, D.C.) — The international community’s feverish determination to cut a nuclear deal at all costs, a deal that would reduce economic sanctions and lessen global pressure on Iran — and in turn might inadvertently allow Tehran to soon build nuclear weapons after all — is dramatically reshuffling the geopolitical deck in the Middle East.

Most Arab and non-Shia Muslim states are deeply fearful of a nuclear-armed Persian state. They are also increasingly concerned that the U.S. is no longer a trustworthy ally to stop Iran. Thus, in a strange twist of events, they are privately reconsidering their long-held hostility towards Israel. Indeed, a growing number of Arab leaders and officials are viewing Israel as a potentially vital ally in their desire to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Now comes an extraordinary report that Israeli President Shimon Peres recently addressed foreign ministers from 29 Arab countries to discuss common threats and national interests in the region, including the Iran issue.

“In an unprecedented event, President Shimon Peres spoke from his office in Jerusalem via satellite to 29 foreign ministers from Arabic and Muslim countries at the Gulf Security Conference in Abu Dhabi two weeks ago,” the Times of Israel reports.

“While Peres spoke, none of the attendees left the room and some even applauded his remarks,” the Times noted, based on an initial report from the Israeli daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth. “Peres talked about how Israel can be a contributing factor in the Middle East and that there is an opportunity for dialogue between Israel and its neighbors about their common concerns, such as the fight against Islamic extremism and Iran’s nuclear program. Peres also presented his vision of global peace. “

“There was a lot of excitement from both sides about [Peres’s address],” said an official who was involved in organizing the event. “Everybody understood that this was something historic: the president of the Jewish state sitting in his office in Jerusalem with an Israeli flag and [the foreign ministers] sitting in the Persian Gulf discussing security, the war on terror and peace.”

“Peres, who was chosen by the summit’s organizer, the United Arab Emirates, to open the conference, was interviewed via satellite by UN Under Secretary-General Terje Rød-Larsen,” the Times noted. “As per the conditions for Peres’s appearance, the president and the foreign ministers only spoke through Larsen, and none of the content was leaked to the press. Among the countries represented were Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Yemen, Qatar, Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh.”